The original buildings of Fitzwilliam College were designed by Sir Denys Lasdun in 1958 although Lasdun’s overall masterplan was never fully realised. Gatehouse Court and the new auditorium have now finally provided the College with a proper main entrance, much as anticipated in the original Lasdun plan. Together the buildings enclose a new garden court, the fourth side of which is contained by an existing avenue of lime trees. At the centre of the court are two substantial copper beech trees which continue to assert their presence on the site. Gatehouse Court provides residential accommodation on its two upper floors grouped around common staircases and kitchens. At ground level there are administrative offices. A triple-height entrance both establishes a major scale to the street and reflects the scale of the copper beeches on the interior of the courtyard, while the language and materials of the new buildings reflect those of Lasdun’s original design. The third side of the courtyard is provided by the two-storey elevation of the new auditorium. It stands within the garden along with The Grove (a surviving 19th century house), the Hall and the Chapel. Its main external material is a pale cream brick which it shares with The Grove. The impact of the new building on the landscape is reduced by placing the auditorium floor at basement level. This means that the audience arrive at gallery level from the main ground floor foyer. The gallery encircles the entire perimeter of the auditorium. It is lit by large ground level windows on either side. Simple, manually operated sliding wooden shutters allow the interior to be blackened out as and when required. The foyer is almost entirely glazed and looks across to the facade of the Grove, through the informal landscape of the College garden. At the western end of the building the back-of-house accommodation also includes music practice rooms contained within a stainless steel enclosure at first floor level.